Nemesis: A Harry Hole Novel

A man walks into an Oslo bank, puts a gun to a cashier's head, and tells her to count to 25, in this second Harry Hole novel in English, a sequel to The Redbreast and a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year. When the robber doesn't get his money fast enough, he pulls the trigger. The young woman dies and two million Norwegian kroner disappear without a trace. Meanwhile detective Harry Hole, now a recovering alcoholic, spends the evening with his old girlfriend Anna, and wakes up with a hangover and no memory of the past 12 hours. Worse, he finds Anna is dead and he is the prime suspect in an investigation led by his nemesis on the force, Tom Waaler—a man Hole believes is responsible for the death of his partner.

"Nesbø returns with another novel that is every bit the multitextured, complexly plotted, psychologically rich thriller that made Redbreast such an unqualified success.... Does the girlfriend's death somehow tie in with the bank robbery and murder that he and his new partner are investigating? As Hole attempts to connect the sea of dots strewn in his path, he must battle not only his adversaries but his own demons, suddenly given new life. Nesbø manages the unlikely feat of exploring the inner life of his lead character in the thorough and compelling manner one associates with, say, Ruth Rendell, while at the same time juggling multiple, interlocking plot strands as dexterously as David Hewson. No doubt about it: Nesbø belongs on every crime-fiction fan's A-list."—Booklist (starred review)